Pros and Cons in Education: Professionals and Con-Artists, that is

Teaching is hard. There are things I like about it: like the times that my class has a discussion about something they feel strongly about. I love being able to ask them questions and watch them think about it. I like watching their opinions change and evolve as they discuss and debate about things.

Of course, I like the students who come up and just smile at me, too. Some kids are gifts from Jesus because they just love me like I love them. Some of them. Some are apple-polishers, pure and simple! Lol!

I've got 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th graders. A total of about 20 hours in the classroom each week, plus some extra hours in spent in extra-curricular clubs and activities. It's challenging.

As for the rest of teaching, the lesson prepping is getting easier. But it's still hard. Of course, there are staff meetings. Some meetings are really interesting. Others are, well, not. Staff meetings will always be just that, staff meetings.

And then there is "the catalog". This is the curse of all Moldovan teachers. It is the official register where teachers enter the students' marks. Teachers are also supposed to enter each of their lessons (name, date, and homework.) These two tasks are problematic for different reasons.

Entering the name, etc of each of my lessons isn't so bad, except that the name of each lesson should cross-reference exactly with another document that I've written, my "Long Term Lesson Plan," in which I detailed every lesson that I will teach, the date I'll teach it on, and the homework I'll give. Sort of an over-the-top pacing calendar that teachers must write for themselves.

Let that just sink in a bit.

I agree that a pacing calendar is a good thing. But this system is so full of red-tape. If my class gets audited in-depth by the Ministry of Education, I could catch h-e-double-l if I'm not teaching exactly the lesson I said I would on a particular day. So if my kids don't get something in the allotted time, I'm not (supposedly) allowed to go back and spend another lesson on that topic again.

It's the law (no kidding.) But it's horse-puckey. (Hey, that's a good word! I should teach that one in my class!) Welcome to a post-soviet culture influenced by centralized everything! (But good teachers go back anyway, and just make it look like they were following all the rules. Again, welcome to the state of bureacracy!)

And then there's the grading system. Being a first year teacher in the Moldovan system, I can't help but feel that it's totally subjective! Of course, I know that any grading system is subjective to a certain degree, even in America.

Let me give you an overview. Teachers give several students a mark at the end of each hour (jr and sr high) based on the student's performance in class or on the previous night's homework. Then, at the end of the semester, all the student's marks are straight averaged. No weighted averages allowed to make test marks, or homework, or a final project, more important in the overall grade.

I've heard about corruption in schools where students will pay off the teachers to give them good marks. I feel very fortunate that I have not seen anything like that at my school. We have great students, and wonderful teachers. I appreciate my colleagues' work more every day, as their well-informed, respectful students sit in my classroom day after day. I also appreciate my students, as I watch their bright, curious minds, and see many of them working hard in my class.

However, I'm still struggling with how to give grades in a way that doesn't seem absolutely subjective to me. I feel like a jerk when I give good marks OR when I give bad marks. Calling all professional teachers! I need a system that's feasible, that let's me weight the student's work in a way that I feel is appropriate, and is also legal in Moldova!